themes in sweat by lynn nottage
CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. This contributed to the story of the play, as we continually see different scenes centered around drinking, especially after work or on stressful days. Though they used to be best friends, Jason (Will Hochman) now has a face covered with white-supremacy tattoos, while Chris (Grantham Coleman) has returned from prison emotionally broken. T he main themes in Sweat are race and class in the workplace, the effect of work life on the family, and economies and individuals. College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought, Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for European Union, Transatlantic, and Trans-European Space Studies, Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, News Stories on International Initiatives, Sweat explores themes of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and labor relations in a deeply human way, Winning words: Cara Daggett, Thomas Gardner, and Madeline Eberhardt honored with Phi Beta Kappa awards, William Price honored with emeritus status, A career and technical education alumnus reflects on his experiences in the School of Education, School of Education doctoral student receives prestigious internship, The Virginia Tech chapter of Omicron Tau Theta initiates eight new members, Heidi Anne Mesmer helps teachers decode reading instruction, Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech supports students with disabilities across the region, School of Communication senior awarded inaugural Tech Sideline Endowed Scholarship, Cybersecurity expert offers safety tips for online holiday shopping, A new map reconstructs the social landscapes of Southwest Virginia prior to European arrival, Alumni Industry Leader Spotlight: Sofiat Abdulrazaaq, Nobelist Karen OBrien delivers lecture about climate change and society, Alumnus Kevin Roberts named next president of the Heritage Foundation, Tokyo Olympics a once-in-a-lifetime experience for School of Communication alumna, Michael Hughes honored with emeritus status, Researchers reflections offer insights on collaboration, Cadet chosen to highlight the colors at the Virginia game, Ending programs for gifted students wont create equity for rural youth, https://www.youtube.com/embed/YcReO9WfWeQ, Lights, gingerbread, eggnog some holiday sights and tastes have global roots, Virginia Tech School of Education nurtures STEM potential in the Mississippi Delta, Student-athletes excel on and off the court. 'Sweat' explores themes of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and labor relations in a deeply human way November 1, 2021 The cast of "Sweat," pictured from left: Elizabeth Crishock, Ariana Pea, and Joseph Steele (front row); Misheck Mzumara, Ashlynn Brooks, Luke Dangel, and Mark Logan (leaning on the bar); Genaro Mejia and Alex Cruz (behind the bar). Although such connections are often indirect, they arise through tangible realities such as corporate downsizing and non-union hiring practices. Most of the play takes place in a local bar, where friends like Tracey, Cynthia, and Jessie (a trio of middle-aged women whove all worked at Olsteads Steel Tubing plant for decades) gather to socialize with one another and with the beloved bartender, Stan. You hear from the old gang? Were a team, you cant leave!! everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Sweat. This is shown in many of the bar scenes. You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. The discrimination towards Oscar and others throughout the play stuck out to me because it is hard to see people who work so hard get torn down due to their heritage. [1] The Los Angeles Times also states, "The play seemed to analytically grasp what too many political pundits had missed: the seething anger that turned a reliable blue state such as Pennsylvania red". This change proves to be an advantage for Cynthia professionally, but a disadvantage personally. Although much of the . Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. However, several close relationships are challenged as characters try to pursue new opportunities and escape the very circumstance over which they bond with others. Im not prejudice, but thats how things are going these days. Registered About 3 Years Ago. Three best friends, Cynthia (Portia), Tracey (Mary Mara), and Jessie (Amy Pietz), pass the time at the bar joking and drinking to obliteration in order to survive the daily grind. Im cool with everyone. All of the floor workers at Olsteads feel replaceable and worry about their job security, so Cynthias bump in pay and benefits comes off as a slap in the face to her coworkersone that drives a wedge between her and Tracey especially. IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. In a world deemed as free, there are still so many disparities within that statement. Less work. The 2008 sequences also shine a spotlight on Chris and Jason's mysterious crime without revealing that incident until the end, leaving the audience waiting for the other shoe to drop instead of being able to focus on the complex relationships Nottage builds and the reflection of America in civil strife. Race was never the main theme in, Sweat by Lynn Nottage, but it helped move the story along and added greatly to some of the characters development. Sweat is preceded by an excerpt from Langston Hughess Let America Be America Again, a poem that critiques the false promise of the American Dream and encourages poor and working-class Americans (among other marginalized groups) to rise up and make America againessentially to redeem the oppression theyve faced and the opportunities theyve been cheated out of. The playwright shows how owners manipulate individual efforts to advance in order to destroy solidarity and instead foster suspicions, mistrust, and rifts between friends. John Earl Jelks is heartbreaking as Chris's father, a maddened drug addict who has lost the respect of his family. By using it, you accept our. Any deadline. This revealed that the play was not just about economic stress and angry intoxicated individuals, instead, it was about the extreme violence there is towards people of color. The union, there to protect the workers, has become overwhelmed and impotent. [4] The characters portrayed were associated with Trump's election campaign phrase of "the forgotten people". Nottage chose the Rust Belt town of Reading, Pennsylvania, because at the time of the plays composition, Reading was the poorest town of its size in the United States. Donmar Warehouse, LondonBased on interviews with residents of small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottages play vividly describes the betrayal and resentments of striking female factory workers in an era of industrial decline. By showing how people, Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs In 2000, we meet best friends Tracey, Cynthia, and Jessie. You dont know what its been like to walk in my shoes. Nottage's characters were based on personal research and interviews she conducted in Reading throughout 2011. Tracey and Jessie grow bitter as their job security is threatened and their wages cut, while their friend Cynthia receives a promotion. Portia is stiff as Cynthia, talking at the characters instead of speaking her peace. Chris finds Cynthia living in a small, rundown, messy apartment . Refine any search. Management is for them. The play opens in 2008, and we meet Jason and Chris as they individually speak to their parole officer, Evan. Admissions Two hostile men sit in separate rooms with the same parole officer after being released from an eight-year prison sentence. Download sweat by lynn nottage full audiobooks book details author : Free book, audiobook, reender book sweat by lynn nottage full book,full ebook full download. Im on your side, Cynthia tells them, but Tracey challenges her: Then act like it, she says. Race and class in the workplace: Nottage explores the. As mentioned earlier , when Nottage does use aspects of spectacle , it emphasizes these themes further , aspects like lighting . School of Performing Arts News|Science, Technology, and Society News|Sociology News, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences In one of the poorest cities in. Job Opportunities Nottage began to write the play in 2011 and set its events during two notable economic downturns: the 2000 to 2001 recession following the dot com bubble and the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. 2023 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Moving up the corporate ladder results in a loss of friendships and social exclusion. [14], A London production opened at the Donmar Warehouse on 7 December 2018, running until 2 February 2019. Wil Johnson as Brucie and Stuart McQuarrie as Stan. Doheny Library: PS3564.O795 S94 2017 o Nottage, Lynn. Whether its the discussion that Oscar doesnt deserve a job or him being attacked, they are all just as equally painful and wrong. CYNTHIA: Why the hell not? Tell me about whats been going on. Order original paper now and save your time! [5] Nottage herself even spoke at the strike, which is what made her realize she had to do more. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This kind of intimate friendship seems to be the norm rather than the exception in Reading: Traceys son Jason and Cynthias son Chris are also best friends who work at Olsteads and who depend on each other for solidarity and camaraderie. Sweat is about the private toll of this great decline. Already a member? 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I hope a lot of people come to see it.. Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat, now playing at the Mark Taper Forum, exposes the collapse of the American working class in the new millennium.When backed up against the wall and . Who is the antagonist in the play Sweat by Lynn Nottage? Were a team, Jason says of himself and Chris, one of many sentiments that drives home the sacredness of close relationships for the plays struggling working-class laborers. First and only job. When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a fight to stay afloat. Overall, I believe that this production was truly eye-opening and although many problems are discussed, the awareness raised about racial tension was the most significant. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Lynn Nottages Sweat is a play set in 2000 and 2008 that explores the tension in a group of friends in the midst of layoffs at a factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. Nov. 1416 at 7:30 p.m. All performances are in the Squires Studio Theatre, located in theSquires Student Centerat 290 College Avenue on the Virginia Tech campus. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage often shines a spotlight on Black women under great duress, as in "Ruined," a Pulitzer Prize winner, or in the workplace like the evocative turn of the . For example, after Cynthia was promoted to Warehouse Supervisor, Tracey was very upset which led her to drink and smoke. Ruined. eNotes Editorial. However below, subsequent to you visit this web page, it will be thus enormously easy to acquire as without diculty as download . Ed. Sweat. The play, however, takes place pre-Trump. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Although Cynthia breaks the rules by warning Tracey, Jessie, Chris, and Jason that a lockout is imminent, they begin to see her as a betrayer rather than a trusted member of their inner circle due to her position of authority over them. Religion and Culture News|Reserve Officer Training Corps News|School of Education News LitCharts Teacher Editions. He used to work at the plant but he was injured from a factory accident. The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood friends and had worked in the same factory. She is on and off with her husband, Brucie, who is addicted to drugs. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts will present Lynn Nottages award-winning Sweat for eight performances, opening on Nov. 9 in Squires Studio Theatre. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. At the beginning of 2000, every character is either part of the working class or experiencing the repercussions of union strikes. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. The play opens in 2008. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Tracey talks about an upcoming promotion at work and how there is a rumor that they want to promote someone from the floor to a manager position. publication in traditional print. (212) 220-8000 By clicking Receive Essay, you agree to our, Stereotypes inThe House on Mango Street Essay Example, Theme of Sexism in The Scarlet Letter Essay Sample, Argumentative Essay: The Dehumanization Of The Holocaust, Role of Social Class in Jane Eyre (Essay Sample), The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Book Review, Essay Sample on Fahrenheit 451: The Frightening Analogy Between Societies, In Cold Blood and Criminal Justice Essay Example, Class Hierarchy inThe Great Gatsby Essay Example, Scrooge's Transformation in Dickens' A Christmas Carol Essay Sample, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Before this, her inspiration came from her family. Oscar now works there as the manager, and he takes care of Stan, who we find out has suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fight. The collection contains chapters on each of her major works . They built this town. Word Count: 524. Their fathers and grandfathers, spouses, and everyone else in this small Pennsylvania town have grown up working on the plant floor, including Tracey and Cynthia's respective sons, Jason and Chris. Mainly the women in her family who were teachers, activists, and artists. Emilio Sosa's costumes reflect the clothing one would wear to unwind after a day sweating on the line. Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. "Sweat - Summary" eNotes Publishing SWEAT is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. This review of Lynn Nottage's "Sweat," which opened on Broadway Sunday with the same cast, first appeared in November with the opening of the original Public Theater production. Characters are saddened and enraged in the face of wage cuts, and conflicts erupt between them as they struggle to navigate their lives in the face of diminishing opportunities. Media Inquiries: 540-232-8574,jennykb@vt.edu, Alumni Relations:540-231-8364,robynes@vt.edu Pietz portrays Jessie as a lonely woman hiding in a glass of alcohol. Human Resources Cynthia gets the promotion, and Tracey wonders if its just because Cynthia is Black. In the world of the play, attempting to raise ones status and transcend ones current situation breeds resentment among the very friends who commiserated with that situation. publication online or last modification online. Who is the antagonist in the play Sweat by Lynn Nottage? [5] She has compared her time talking to former steelworkers in Reading with the occasion when she stayed in the town of Mansfield in the English Midlands and interviewed workers during the 1984 miners' strike. She doesnt really believe a floor worker will get the promotion, but when Cynthia talks about applying, Tracey decides to as well. Jason finds that Tracey has a significant pill addiction. She cannot stand the way Reading has been changing over the years. Virtual Tour The play alternates between the same characters in 2000 and 2008, a plot structure that allows the audience to see how these choice pan out over timeand the shame and guilt that characters feel in response to their actions, even eight years later. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. To combat this constant strain and underappreciation, the members of Readings working-class community depend upon tight-knit relationships with one another as a means of stress relief, support, and fulfillment. Mara plays Tracey as a shrill woman who is looking for others to blame. She used these substances as coping mechanisms which also led her to say racist comments about her own friend. Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Youve always been cool. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." (including. Nottage has said that she was particularly influenced by a New York Times article reporting on the city specifically, and by the Occupy Wall Street movement more generally. This Study Guide consists of approximately 52pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - "Sweat - Themes" eNotes Publishing Her friend Cynthia is a black woman who also loves to hang out with her friends at the bar and is a hardworking woman in the factory. Seeing the effects of job loss and the economic struggle these people were facing first hand is what truly inspired her work for the play Sweat. Working with this diverse cast of student actors to climb inside this story has been a gift. Ed. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. The kind but stalwart officer (Kevin T. Carroll) hopes a reunion between the two will help heal their wounds. [25], The play won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting for the production at the Public Theater. Instant PDF downloads. The bartender in the play is Stan. Some characters use racial slurs towards Latinos and show him that he isn't welcome in the Olstead factory. 2023
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